God Of War Wins Game Of The Year At GDC 2019

The 19th Game Developers Choice Awards has named God of War as its Game of the Year. God of War has received a number of high acclaims throughout the year due to the refined combat gameplay it offers players, the dazzling visuals, and the mature storyline.

God of War was chosen over other games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Return of the Obra Dinn. While this would be the only award God of War achieved at the Game Developers Choice Awards, it is its third major Game of the Year award overall.

The GDCA was created for developers, and they themselves are the ones who vote and choose the best games of the year. Specifically, the winners are chosen by the International Choice Awards Network. This is an organization that is composed of the industry's top game creators and is invite-only. The GDCA is not just about games, but also honors the different individuals that have made a contribution and helped the art, craft, and science of video games move forward.

For this year, the Pioneer Award was given to Rieko Kodama, in honor of her work and legacy that spans at least 30 years and include games like Phantasy Star and Skies of Arcadia. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to writer and director Amy Hennig. Hennig's career in game development started during the time of the Atari 7800 and grew to the point where she served as the writer and creative director for the Uncharted franchise.

Game Developers Conference General Manager Katie Stern said that the awards represent the year's most refined games. Considering the large number of games, the GDCA revealed that it is still possible to have games that come with unique creative visions. She added that "games like God of War and Red Dead Redemption 2 capture our imagination with poignant moments juxtaposed against epic tales of staggering scale and technical prowess." Stern also said that the organization is "proud to recognize these nominees and winners alike for the imagination and hard work that brought them here.”

Other awards include Best Narrative for Return of the Obra Dinn and Best Technology for Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2. VR rhythm game Beat Saber took home the Best VR/AR Game award as well as the Audience Award.

Meanwhile, Florence was chosen as Best Mobile Game and Best Debut. Gris won Best Visual Art while the Best Design award went to Into the Breach. The Best Audio was awarded to Celeste. Finally the Innovation Award was given to Nintendo Labo.